Sains-Huawei MoU to boost Sarawak’s cybersecurity, private 5G network capabilities

KUCHING (July 1): Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains) and Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei Malaysia) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen collaborative efforts geared towards boosting Sarawak’s cybersecurity capabilities, private 5G network adoption, and applications modernisation.

The MoU seeks to further enhance collaboration between both parties to safeguard digital assets from cyber threats through the study, design, and proof of concept (POC) implementation of a suite of robust security solutions such as Huawei’s SecMaster technology and Huawei’s Cloud Bastion Host (CBH) solution.

A press statement said Huawei’s SecMaster, a next-generation cloud-native security operation platform, would enable integrated and automated security operations through cloud asset and security management, configurable defence policies and intelligent rapid threat detection and response, while the CBH would provide a centralised security management platform set to authorise, authenticate and audit operation and maintenance (O&M) actions, ensuring reduced network security incidents and maintaining the stability of service systems.

By leveraging the collective design capabilities and implementation strategies of Huawei’s security solutions, effective measures to safeguard Sarawak’s digital assets against cyber threats should be realised by the end of this year.

In addition, Sains and Huawei Malaysia would expand on efforts to accelerate 5G adoption for enterprises in Sarawak through the deployment of Private 5G network technology.

Unlike consumer-oriented networks, these dedicated 5G private networks had been tailored for specific enterprise sites with customisable hardware and software.

Isolated from public networks, they could be fine-tuned to meet specific security requirements and handle more complex tasks and processes.

Slated for completion by June next year, the private 5G network would boost enterprise productivity, security, and scalability for the state’s expanding economic activities.

Collaborative efforts under the MoU would also focus on applications modernisation and artificial intelligence (AI) integration using Huawei’s ModelArts – a full-stack, full-lifecycle model development tool chain providing comprehensive AI tools and services to enable rapid service innovation.

This effort would enhance agility, reduce costs and improve the user experience of state government services by the end of this year.

“Huawei is honoured to continue contributing to Sarawak’s digitisation journey. Enterprises and organisations require robust, high-performing, secure, and reliable network solutions to power innovations across different applications and industries, especially in cybersecurity and 5G adoption,” said Huawei president for enterprise key account sales department Xiao Haijun.

“We are confident that our extensive range of 5G solutions as well as our global experience in this area will benefit the people and economy of Sarawak, aligning with Malaysia’s broader connectivity ambitions.”

Sains chief executive officer Busiai Seman added: “We are excited to enter into this MoU with Huawei. This collaboration allows us to leverage Huawei’s expertise and technological advancements, particularly as part of Sarawak’s digital transformation journey.”

The MoU signing ceremony took place at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China recently, with Busiai and Huawei Malaysia vice-president for enterprise business group Michael Zhuang being the signatories for the respective parties.

Also present were members of Sains board of directors, as well as Hu Yuhai and Tang Shijie, the respective presidents for Huawei Global Cloud Stack and Huawei Asia Pacific Cloud Solutions.